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Naruto Shippuden 322 Review: Dance with Madara

Before I actually start giving my insight on this episode, let me inform you that I’ve been watching Naruto since 2005 (I’ve been following the manga since 2008). I went through crappy quality animation, cheesy filler, gut-wrenching episodes and shitty movies. But this week’s episode was different – not only the animation was awesome, IT WAS CANON!

Synopsis of Naruto Shippuden Episode 322:

After the Fourth Company successfully seals the Third Hokage, the Trollkage and Yodanime Kazekage, Muu summons the almighty Madara Uchiha. This is the real Madara Uchiha, the man who apparently ‘died’ battling Hashirama at the Final Valley. Madara’s revival brings confusion among the Shinobi Alliance because they were told that the masked man was Madara Uchiha.

Madara Uchiha is greeted by Muu (Now under the control of Kabuto) and explains to Madara about the current situation. Madara seems to understand that Kabuto has altered his body. At this point, Madara decides to test out his immortal body and wipes out ~2/3 of the Alliance’s Fourth Company with hand-to-hand combat.

The Alliance decides to create a combination that consists of: Naruto, the old man Kage and Gaara to launch a huge Rasengan attack upon Madara. However, the attack fails short due to Madara’s activation of the Mangekyou Sharingan. A huge blue Susanoo (a bit similar to Sasuke’s), continues to wreck havoc on the battlefield.

Shortly after Naruto throws a Rasenshuriken, Madara awakens the Rinnegan. Madara tells Kabuto that he was able to gain the Rinnegan shortly after his death. The almighty Madara continues to unleash his raw power and create two meteors. (LOL. I know, how bizarre/haxxed.) The Fourth Company is completely wiped out and only a couple of survivors remain on the battlefield. (Naruto’s clone, Gaara, and the old man)

Back the Alliance HQ, Tsunade and the other Kage’s are ready to fight Madara Uchiha together.

My Review/Opinions:

This episode showcased the brute strength of Madara Uchiha. In just a matter of minutes, Madara annihilated every single fodder on the battlefield. In one particular scene, Madara launches a huge fire attack and it takes about a handful of Alliance shinobi to block the attack! Here’s one of favorite scene out of the entire episode:

Madara was able to intercept a soldier’s tagged kunai with one hand, slap the tag on another soldier and return the kunai back to the soldier. How insane was that move? I couldn’t stop laughing on how Madara was able to complete such a brutal stunt.

Although there were a couple of hiccups, overall the quality throughout the entire episode was absolutely stunning and very well done. The animation team did a very good job showing the fluid animation of each battle sequence and left me hungry for more action.

I will admit, I was never a huge fanboy of Madara Uchiha in the manga. Madara appeared to me as a cliche final villain that held a bland personality and skill set. Everything changed when I watched this episode. The carefully selected OSTs, the godly-like personality and battle skills of Madara brought shivers to my spine every time he attacked. This man was terrifying. How can the Alliance defeat a man like Madara?

The Verdict: 5/5.

There’s nothing else I can add to this review. I’m speechless. This is what the anime series needed to redeem itself. The pacing was moderate and the fast-paced animation kept me on the edge of my seat. This episode truly brought the terrifying God-like power of Madara Uchiha.

This is my opinion. You can watch the episode and judge the episode yourself. Let me know what you think about this week’s Naruto episode.

Had the same thoughts as yours! This episode was great, even the background elements are detailed and the animation was superb. I think the only other episode that goes on par with this one was an episode in the Pain arc. I was looking forward for more consistent animation, but 323 rolled back into the animation quality that had many fans stop watching the show.

Yes, I also enjoyed the Pain arc as well. Glad you enjoyed episode 322! Hopefully we’ll see this movie budget animation in the near future of the show. I wouldn’t give up on the show so soon, the 5 Kage vs. Madara fight is about to get heated!